What To Expect Flying WOW Air As a Family

We took advantage of a WOW Air sale last winter with a $99 flight from Baltimore (BWI) to Reykjavik (KEF). WOW Air offers the cheapest flight to Iceland we’ve ever found, with one-way fares as low as $69 from the U.S.  Ever since we fell in love with the country, we’ve been dreaming of returning with our kids. Our second visit to Iceland was during the summer, when WOW Air deals aren’t quite as cheap but are still extremely affordable with the proper planning. Traveling in Iceland can get very expensive, especially as a family of four, so it helps to save money getting there. Are you looking for a cheap flight to Iceland but aren’t sure what to expect with this low-cost carrier?  Then check out our experience flying as a family with WOW Air BWI – KEF.

**Our WTA score represents our own views based on our personal experience with the entity being reviewed.

How to find a cheap flight to Iceland with WOW

Sign up for the Wow Club, which is free, to get alerted about a WOW Air sale. Whenever we get emails about WOW Air deals for cheap flights to Iceland, we are tempted to go back again because the deals are just so incredible! We once saw a roundtrip deal from the US to the Middle East for $260! That is INSANE!!! We recommend acting fast as the deals tend to move quick. You can also snag cheap flights to other countries in Europe with the option to do a free Wow Air stopover in Iceland.

WOW Air Check In

Our WOW Air check in at BWI airport in Baltimore was surprisingly easy and quick. We didn’t have to wait in line at all, which is always a plus when traveling with young kids. We’ve gotten used to that kind of smooth check in process when flying in premium cabins, but typically experience a more painful check in when flying economy. We were grateful to get our trip to Iceland off to a smooth start.

The WOW Air crew member checking us in was a bubbly lady who was extremely warm, joyful and outgoing. She had fun chatting with our kids during the process, and then gave them high fives later at the gate for boarding. We appreciate that kind of friendly service!

However, for our return flight, the Wow check in process at Keflavik airport took much longer. You can save a considerable amount of time by using the self-service kiosks to print your baggage tags and leave your checked luggage at the WOW Air baggage drop. We recommend giving yourself plenty of time to get your bags checked and get to the gate, since there were long lines for passport control. We realize this is beyond the airline’s control, but it is good to be prepared so you aren’t stressing about getting to the gate on time. We recommend arriving 3 hours before your flight, which is when the WOW Air check-in desks open at KEF.

WOW Air Boarding

We found the boarding process with WOW Air to be confusing and slightly disorganized. The WOW crew made announcements during boarding for both legs of the trip but we couldn’t hear what was said and none of the other passengers seemed to know either. People lined up at the gate but there didn’t seem to be any specific order, other than Priority Boarding (for an additional fee) going first. Since we had children under the age of 6, we were able to board after priority boarding and avoid waiting in the long line. Traveling with young kids has its perks! 😉

WOW Air Baggage Size and Allowance

It’s really important to be aware of the WOW Air baggage allowance policy before your flight to avoid unexpected last-minute costs. WOW Air is upfront about their luggage policy and their confirmation email includes details about the luggage allowance.

WOW Air allows one free personal item per person of the dimensions 42x32x25cm/17x13x10in (10kg/22 lbs) including handles and wheels. This can be a small backpack, purse, laptop bag, or camera bag that fits under the seat in front of you. Carry-on bags used to be free with Wow Airlines but now they cost extra, so plan ahead. If your personal item doesn’t fit under the seat, then you’re required to pay a fee for a carry-on bag. We’ve read WOW Air reviews where people said this policy was strictly enforced, and others that said it was not. We recommend playing it on the safe side.

WOW Air Luggage Price

How much does WOW Air charge for bags? The fees for luggage range from $44.99 to $99.99, depending on when you pay, whether your bag is checked or carry-on, and the length of your flight. The longer you wait to pay, the more expensive it gets. So plan ahead to save money. Longer flights have higher luggage fees. See the chart below for prices from BWI to KEF but click here to check on luggage prices for your specific itinerary.

WOW Air Carry On

What is the WOW Air carry on size? The carry on bag must be a maximum of 56x45x25cm/22x18x10in including handles and wheels and no more than 12 kg/26 lbs.  It must fit in the overhead compartment or you’ll have to check it. Make sure to check the size of your carry on bag during check in process to avoid any unpleasant surprises at the gate. Our kids had fun crawling into the thing to check baggage size to see if they could fit!

WOW Air Checked Luggage

Wow Air checked luggage has the same price policy as the carry on luggage, with slightly higher prices. How much does it cost for checked luggage on WOW Air? The luggage fees from BWI to Reykjavik range from $54.99 to $99.99 (see chart above). The earlier you pay for it, the less you pay. Once again, plan ahead to save money.

We think it makes the most sense to check one large bag for two people (or more if you are really light packers). Forget about carry-on suitcases since you can get more bang for your buck with checked bags.

The weight allowance for checked luggage is 20 kg per bag. If your bag exceeds the weight limit, be prepared to shell out $19.99 per kg over 20kg. We always weigh our bags at home to avoid shuffling items around at the airport or those dreaded overweight bag fees. By the way, baggage fees cannot be paid with cash, so bring a credit card or debit card just in case.

WOW Air Cabin

The WOW Air cabin is bright and cheerful with its purple carpet that says Wow and purple cabin lights. WOW’s shade of pinkish purple happens to be one of my favorite colors, so I loved seeing it everywhere. Our plane from BWI to Reykjavik had 6 seats in each row with one aisle down the middle. We were in row 4 with XXL seats and a lot of legroom.

WOW Air Seats

WOW Air offers 5 different seat types with 29” to 37” legroom at different price points. You have the option to preselect your seat for a fee, or to be randomly assigned to a seat for no extra charge. Some people get lucky and end up in the extra legroom seats for free!

How much does it cost to get a bigger seat on WOW Air? Note that all prices are per leg of the flight and vary depending on your date of travel and length of the flight. Refer to the Optional fees and charges page for specific fees for your itinerary. For our BWI – KEF flight, the standard seat and standard plus seats have 29-31” of legroom and cost an extra $6.99 and $14.99 online during booking, or $7.99 and $16.99 online after booking. Wow XL seats offer at least 32” extra legroom and cost an extra $39.99/$44.99. Wow XXL seats offer 35” extra legroom and cost an extra $49.99/$54.99. BigSeats have at least 37” extra legroom, are wider, and come with a footrest. They look more like what you’d expect in business class, but will set you back an extra $149.99 or more. For longer flights, the BigSeats are the way to go. They were full on our return flight and those people looked pretty darn comfy! If you’re flying WOW Air for a cheap trip to Iceland and don’t want to pay for any extras, then we recommend letting Wow assign your seat and hope for the best!

WOW Air XXL Seats

We had preselected WOW Air XXL seats since Bertaut is 6’5 (although he claims to be 6’6) and wanted to be comfortable during our 6-hour flight. He definitely appreciated the extra legroom. I’m short (5’4 and that’s rounding up) so my seat had tons of legroom. We also wanted to make sure that we all sat together, since our kids are still young and would not be ok sitting by themselves.

It was also nice having extra space traveling with young kids who could move around more easily betweeen the seats. We had so much legroom in fact that our son slept on the floor for several hours while the seat belt sign was off. LOL! Don’t judge! Our daughter laid down across 2 seats and they both slept for a good portion of the flight. We chose the 7pm overnight flight, so we really needed the kids to get some sleep before we landed at 5am in Reykjavik.

WOW Air Food Menu

Since WOW Air is a budget airline, food and drinks are not included in the price of the ticket. This tends to be one of the biggest complaints we’ve seen in WOW Air reviews, but if you come prepared, it won’t be an issue. We recommend eating before your flight or buying food at the airport in the U.S. to take on the flight. We brought reusable water bottles and filled them up just prior to boarding our flight. Water costs $3 per bottle and we tend to get very thirsty on flights, so this saved us some money. We also used our bottles during our entire vacation in Iceland, since their tap water is from the glaciers.

The WOW Air food menu is limited but will keep you from starving during your flight to Iceland in case you didn’t bring food or eat before boarding. The inflight WOW Air menu includes the choice of a ham and cheese baguette, a club sandwhich, or a margherita pizza. Snacks include chips, candy bars, skyr yogurt, soup, oatmeal, fruit squeezes, and more. Cold drinks include soda, bottled water, sparking water, orange juice, apple juice, and chocolate milk. Hot beverages include tea, coffee, and hot chocolate. There’s also a selection of beer, wine, and liquor available for purchase.

You can also opt to purchase a meal online prior to your flight, which will give many more options. Meals available to purchase online only range from $9.49 to $13.99 and include scrambled eggs, mustard chicken, sweet chili chicken, chicken Caesar salad, California sandwich, beef sandwich, noodles with chicken, and vegan falafel meal. We did not know about this option prior to our flight, but saw someone receive one of those meals, and it looked and smelled good.

WOW Air Meals

Our inflight meal came with the choice of a sandwich or a pizza, a cold beverage, and a hot beverage. Our kids enjoyed their margherita pizzas, which were served steaming hot and had to cool down awhile before the kids could eat them. I chose the ham and cheese baguette, which was also served hot. It was basic and just like what you’d find in France. Bertaut opted for the club sandwhich and thought it tasted good, although he was still hungry afterwards. Thank goodness for the trail mix and granola bars I stuffed into my backpack!

WOW Air Cabin Crew

We adore the uniforms of WOW Air cabin crew. Those bright pink suits and hats look so stylish and retro. We just had to get a photo of the kids with some of the beautiful members of our cabin crew.

The ladies that took care of us during our flight were all very nice and accommodating. If we turned on our call button, they arrived right away to see what we needed. They chatted with our kids and served us with bright smiles. We even crossed paths with one of our flight attendants in Reykjavik on her day off and she recognized us from the flight over, which made a lasting impression.

WOW Air Entertainment

WOW Air doesn’t have in-flight entertainment systems but you can rent iPads during your flight on North-American routes. The iPads are loaded with movies (although no new releases) and games. We were told by another passenger that they are $19.99 to rent. We brought our own iPads to entertain the kids loaded with their favorite games, which kept them happy during the flight. Wow seats have universal power outlets so you can keep your devices charged. There is no inflight Wi-Fi on board, so make sure to load your iPad with plenty of movies. The Wow Magazine is also a great way to entertain yourself and has excellent articles and ideas about what to do in Iceland.

Conclusion of our WOW Air Review

In conclusion, we think WOW Air is a great option for anyone looking for a cheap flight to Iceland. As a budget airline, you will have to pay for any extras but can still come up ahead on the savings. If you know what to expect, you can come prepared and won’t be surprised by any additional costs. We recommend packing light to save on luggage fees and sharing a checked bag with your travel companion(s). Save money during the flight by bringing a reusable water bottle that you fill at the airport just before your flight, food, and an iPad to keep you entertained. We’ve flown comfortably in both the regular seats and the XXL seats, but prefer the extra space and think the upgrade is worth the cost if you’re a giant like Bertaut. Wow Air cabin crew were friendly, helpful and took good care of us during our 6 hour flight.

For help planning your trip to Iceland, check out what to do in Iceland in the summer, a Game of Thrones Iceland tour, tips for a winter visit to Iceland, best things to see in South Iceland, epic drone shots of Iceland in the winter, beautiful winter landscapes, and one day in Reykjavik. If you are looking for the best luxury hotel in South Iceland, read our review of Hotel Ranga.

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*Disclosure- WOW Air comped our tickets, but as always, all opinions are our own. We payed for our WOW Air flights in the past and will surely purchase tickets through them again, since they offer the cheapest flights to Iceland.

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